Stevia to take off globally through Coke Life expansion

Stevia could be set to get a huge boost globally, as Coca-Cola’s stevia-sweetened beverage, Coke Life continues its expansion, with the product set to be available on Australian shelves by 7 April 2015.

The Coca-Cola Company announced in November 2014 that it would launch the new stevia-sweetened Coca-Cola Life in Australia and New Zealand in April 2015. The product is set to enter the supply chain from 2 April 2015 in order to be available to consumers after the Easter long weekend on 7 April 2015. Coke Life is the first new Coke branded cola flavoured product to be launched by CCA in the past 9-10 years – following the launch of Coke Zero in January 2006.

Coca-Cola said its Coca-Cola Life formulation had been successfully launched in a number of other countries including Argentina, Chile, Mexico, GB and most recently the US.

The product, which has been many years in development, could provide a boost for stevia in other food and beverage products globally. Stevia has so far proved the most popular of the ‘natural’ sugar-alternative sweeteners, with market research organisation Canadean predicting it would see growth in the years to 2017 that might see it gain ground on artificial sweeteners. In 2013 it still lagged behind artificial sweeteners such as Aspartame and Acesulfame K.

About Coke Life

CCA said Coke Life is “a 35 per cent less sugar and 35 per cent lower kilojoule formulation” of Coca-Cola, containing 68 calories/285kjs per 250mL serving. The product was developed in response to growing consumer demand for a product that had fewer kilojoules and was sweetened from ‘natural’ sources.

The reduced sugar component is achieved by using a combination of sugar and stevia. Stevia is a natural sweetener derived from the leaves of the Stevia Rebaudiana plant, a member of the Chrysanthemum plant family (a native plant of Paraguay).

The Coke Life product will be an additional offering, alongside other Coca-Cola branded soft drinks, including Coca-Cola, Coke Zero, and Diet Coke. It will be marketed and positioned in-store next to the other Coke brands.